A blog about my efforts to help raise awareness of the increase of horrific birth defects and cancer in Fallujah, Iraq

Menu

Monthly Archives: September 2013

It seems that the new march to war has been stopped, or at least paused…for now. I am grateful but wary and wish that I could believe that the situation in Syria will be resolved through diplomatic means, through the proper international channels. I hope that my skepticism is proven wrong, and that we really can stop the Nobel Peace Prize winner from sending in bombs, as if you could really bomb your way to peace. I salute everyone who worked hard to stop what seemed inevitable. It gives me hope that we really can stop a wrong when we see it, and if we scream loud enough, our “Representatives” might even listen to us, and do the people’s bidding. I think that it was people putting pressure on Congress that helped bring this about. That and Kerry’s ineptness. But mainly the power of the people. Right on.

So, I’m left thinking hard about what it will take to see some action on the consequences of our past wars. What will it take to get people in power to accept responsibility for their actions? How can we get some justice for the babies of Fallujah? I do think that helping Ross get his documentary made is a positive step. Not only will it raise awareness and educate, it can be used as a vehicle to both raise funds and to lobby our governments to take steps to make amends. When enough people are educated and see the damage caused by our weapons, well, maybe enough people will say no more, no more blood on our hands. At least that’s my hope.

It will be a hard fight. Already the powers that be are denying and fighting and doing everything they can to dismiss and deny. As I mentioned in a previous post, the World Health Organization and the Iraqi Ministry of Health did a study on birth defects in Iraq that began in May-June 2012 and was completed in early October 2012. The study was supposed to have been released in November 2012. Still no report or word from the WHO, but yesterday the WHO quietly released a short summary that shows “no clear evidence to suggest an unusually high rate of congenital birth defects in Iraq.” These results are definitely at odds with previous research on the public health crisis in Iraq. And it most certainly doesn’t explain what the doctors at Fallujah General Hospital see every day, day in and day out. And still, where is the WHO? I am skeptical, and fear that the same people who denied Agent Orange for years will do whatever they can to deny the situation in Fallujah.

We can’t let them. Please share the kickstarter and keep talking about the babies. As the efforts in Syria show, we can change the course of events if we try. We just can’t stay silent, and we can’t give up. For these babies:

I sit here today listening to the voices of my country’s leaders, trying to convince my fellow Americans that it’s our moral and ethical duty to bomb Syria, A Humanitarian effort, they say. Then they bring out the pictures of all of those poor children, and my heart bleeds, because it is terrible to see human suffering like that. No one who is against military action in Syria is pro-chemical weapons. But I beleive, as do many others, that the story they are using to sell us this war is not the truth. I believe other reports that question the black and whiteness of who used the weapons. And even if what they say is true…even then, why isn’t our President, he who won a Nobel PEACE prize, doing everyting he can to avoid sending bombs? Why doesn’t he goto the UN?

Because, this is what happens when we send in our weapons:

From Fallujah General Hospital: “Male stillborn with upper & lower limbs abnormalities , aprevious baby aborted 2 years ago with the same condition , the parents are not relatives & there is no previous family history of such or any other abnormalities”

And, if we didn’t do this, then why won’t we fund any research to determine what did? There’s a World Health Organization study on birth defects in Iraq that was supposed to be released in the spring. Where is that study? Where is the US here? Why can’t we address the “collateral damage” that our bombs cause before we send new bombs to new places? These are the questions I’m thinking about on this glorious end of summer day in America.

The good news? The kickstarter by my friend Ross at the Justice for Fallujah Project is halfway to the goal! That is awesome and I thank all of my friends for supporting this cause, Please share the link and spread the news. Even if you can’t donate, the more FB and Twitter shares, the higher the campaign “scores” on kickstarter. And remember, we hope to use the documentary to raise money for the babies. It’s action that we can take.

The bad news? The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted FOR military action against Syria. The propaganda machine is beating the war drum again. Chemical weapons are terrible, no doubt about it.

But so are ours. We’re hypocritical interventionists. We are not the world’s police nor should we be. Because THIS HAPPENS WHEN WE SEND OUR BOMBS TO MAIM AND KILL:

This is why I am so passionate on the issue of whether the US should enter the war in Syria. It’s bad and my heart breaks for the children and babies of Damascus. But let the world community deal with Syria, Because if we can’t pay for what we’ve done to the families of Fallujah, what are we doing contemplating more bombs?!